Tag Archives: Robots

Join us here on Top 5 Coolness Countdown as we separate the coolness from the lukewarm. This week: iOS 7.1, 3D-printed body parts, gyrating and pole-dancing robots and a lot more.

If you’d like to hear us talking about this week’s countdown, listen to our Top 5 Coolness Countdown podcast:

5. iOS 7.1 Rolls Out, But Look Out

Apple rolled out iOS 7.1 this week, with CarPlay support, camera improvements, press-to-talk with Siri and a shimmering new unlock screen. But look out, some people are noticing diminished battery life.

Three high school students in Loveland, Ohio built their own 3D bio printer that could be used to print human organs. They have laid out a small sheet of bacterial cells. Their teacher said he “had tears running down his face” when he saw what his amazing students had done.

You won’t believe what those robots are up to now. A pole-dancing bot made her debut in Germany this week — check out the wild gyrations of those two clanking gals in the pic above. Want one for yourself? It’ll cost you a cool $40,000.

Nokia announced that Refocus, an app that can focus on parts of an image AFTER you’ve taken it, will be available on all Windows Phone devices. The feature, which was popularized by the camera maker Lytro, lets you blur out some portions of a photo and bring others into focus.

Whoa, look at these huge pics of the new Alfa Romeo 4C convertible (we recommend you click the double arrow to enjoy these pics full-screen). This tiny pocket rocket weighs a mere 2,100 pounds, and goes from 0 to 62 in 4.5 seconds Look for it early next year.

Welcome to Top 5 Coolness Countdown, the site that separates the coolness from the lukewarm. This week: Apple CarPlay, future villas, robot drumming and a lot more.

5. Energy-Producing City of the Future

If architect Vincent Callebaut has his way, spectacular villas from the future will be creating more energy than they consume, turning the wasteland that is the city of Kunming in South West China into a Nirvana resembling paradise. More than 45 energy-producing abodes will be built in the middle of a community garden that grows its own organic food. Sign us up.

Samsung has announced a new music service, Milk, that brings streaming radio to Galaxy devices. Built by the same people who built Slacker, the service comes free with Samsung phones — although hackers have already figured out how to load the service onto other Android phones. It is ad-free and will appear on the Galaxy S5 when it launches in April.

Speaking of feel-good technology, researchers at a university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina have created an implant that, shall we say, excites the pleasure centers of men and women automatically. Designed by Jim Pfaus, the box is shaped like a pack of cigarettes (but it’s smaller), and can trigger orgasms on cue. It’s made specifically for folks with dysfunctions down there so don’t think you’re going to install one anytime soon.

Connect any iOS device with a Lightning cable, and you’ll see Apple’s lovely user interface on the car’s screen. You’ll see it first on Volvos, Mercedes-Benz and Ferraris this year, with almost every other car brand on the way.

Gil Weinberg of Georgia Tech makes music with robots. His latest invention, however, flips the script: It’s a robotic drumming hand that gives amputees and the disabled the chance to bang on snare drums or sizzle on cymbals.

The system, which straps to the arm, has two drumsticks. The first one is controlled with electrical signals passed through the muscles of the arm. Another smaller stick taps out a rhythm automatically based on the music being played. It’s an amazing invention that can truly change lives.